


Children of the Force

by TheReviewGuest



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Ahsoka is A Sweet Carnivorous Child, Anakin Skywalker Has Issues, Dadakin Skywalker, F/M, Fluff, Jedi Lineages (Star Wars), Let Ahsoka breath, Please Let Ahsoka EAT MEAT SHE IS A PREDATOR
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29101650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheReviewGuest/pseuds/TheReviewGuest
Summary: To the outside world, Anakin is a carefree young man making the most out of his youth. The reality is, he can't afford to let the war consume him, not when it would mean his Padawan is consumed alongside him.Or Ahsoka is a child, and Anakin makes sacrifices for her.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 21
Kudos: 140





	1. Prologue: The Eldest Child

**Author's Note:**

  * For [27beansprouts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/27beansprouts/gifts).



Anakin smiled.

To anyone who didn't know him, and many who did know him, that bright smile was an outlet for his carefree and youthful personality. He smiled in the face of death and danger and came out just fine. He gave his smiles freely and loved just the same. He was compassionate and unbending to the horrors of war.

Clone Captain Rex knew better. He saw the cracks as the General went over the casualty reports, as he read the numbers of the men who had _names_ , who were _living, breathing_ sapients. Rex heard his breath hitch as he found men he knew, and saw his hands grip the datapad so hard _that the screen cracked, and tremors of force energy shook the walls of the small office_ until he took a deep breath.

And let it out.

A moment later, Rex knew why as a chipper 16 year old Ahsoka Tano skipped into the room, oblivious as Anakin closed the datapad and smiled happily at her. He joked, laughed, and spoke with her- with a subtle gentleness that Rex _knew_ was genuine because Anakin wouldn't dare to give any less for his Padawan.

(Rex remembered his Alpha, the clone who trained and raised him, and the Mandalorian words that he shared- and decided that _Buir, Father_ fit Anakin to a tee.)

When Ahsoka expressed doubts, Anakin listened, and comforted. When she mourned the loss of men and friends, of family, Anakin embraced her. ( _And who,_ Rex asked himself, _could do that for Anakin?_ ) By the end of their sessions that Rex pointedly pretended not to notice, Ahsoka would be back to her old self. But each time, he knew, a little more of that innocence chipped away. A little more trauma and cynicism edged underneath Ahsoka's skin.

Anakin- Rex knew- was hyper aware of this. By the time Ahsoka left Anakin would let his head sink into his hands and despair. Despair for his child, and for the loss of her innocence. When Anakin finally left to rest in his quarters Rex would clean his desk for him (It was the least he could do for his hardworking General) and he would find scrapped plans for Anakin to leave, taking Ahsoka with him and finding a place to hide until the war ended. 

But Anakin- nor Ahsoka- would leave their men. (Rex wished they would, for their own sake.)

Rex sighed. Anakin was no child, and even General Kenobi was blinded by the deception. 

Anakin Skywalker was a grieving, lonely father who could not protect his daughter from the horrors of war.

But at this rate, he might die trying.


	2. The Middle Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka was exposed to the horrors of war at a very young age.  
> The pain of another's innocence lost to war hits home in a very specific way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short, but hopefully not devoid of heart. Enjoy.

Ahsoka gazed sadly at the young man who stood, facing away from her. She had seen his face, heard his name on the Holonet, seen the aftermath of the battles that he'd fought. He couldn't have been older than 23, the same age her Master had been when the Clone Wars ended.

When he was consumed by the Dark Side.

And now she stood, three months after the destruction of what was apparently the _second_ Death Star, in mute anticipation of meeting the son of that man- and she _knew_ it was his son because he looked so much like the Anakin she'd known. (and even more like Padme)

He stirred, turning towards her in surprise.

"Not many people can sneak up on me." He said matter of factly, no ego in his words. 

"There aren't many left who could." Ahsoka agreed. "But I won't tell anyone I managed to spook the big hero of the Rebellion."

Luke scowled, and a memory of Anakin doing much the same filtered over the image, causing Ahsoka to laugh. It was _not_ as effective on Luke, rather it looked like a particularly vicious pout. Like a boy wearing his Father's robes. 

"Some respect you've got for the 'Hero of the Rebellion'," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Was there something I can help you with?"

Ahsoka grinned, her pointed canines glinting in the low light of Coruscant's neon-blooming night. The battle for Coruscant had finally slowed down over the last week, and the Empire had begun fleeing to core worlds in order to establish some sort of order amdist the chaos of their fall. Ahsoka had come to help oversee the uprooting of the ISB, her direct competition when it came to information gathering and espionage. Not that she'd operated as Fulcrum since, well...

"I was drawn here," She said simply. "Same as you. I think I'm beginning to understand why."

"Really?"

"Yup." How Ahsoka could be so casual, she had no clue. She hadn't felt this playful in a long time, even with Rex and the Ghost crew. "I think you need some help."

In that instant, Like transformed from wary and frustrated to pure and hopeful. The light that shone within him brightened, and Ahsoka basked in it- he was so much like Anakin, so bright and free. Ahsoka closed her eyes and smiled wider.

"You're a Jedi?" He seemed to realize, voice high in surprise.

"No. But I was."

"But you can help me?!"

Ahsoka opened her eyes, taking a moment to examine Luke's face. The jaw, the eyes, that bleach blonde hair... 

"You look just like your Father." She said, eyes moistening against her will. "I see so much of him in you."

A moment of clarity filled the space between them, and Luke turned back to the temple, his surprise and excitement palpable through the Force.

Then, after a long moment:

"You knew my Father?"

"I did." _He was my closest friend._ "He was a great Jedi Knight." _He practically raised me, in those years of the war._

Luke nodded, then: "Do you know what became of him?"

_A black mask, a shadow in the force. "Then you will die."_

"Yes." She whispered, voice breaking.

Luke turned back to her, his face soft and melancholic. "I was with him at the end," he said softly. "For a brief moment, Anakin Skywalker returned to the light."

Something swelled within Ahsoka. "I see."

Anakin had returned. For his son...

There was a time when he had called her Daughter, and she called him Father. Not aloud, but in their hearts. She had never truly pushed that sentiment away, but it seems Vader had been able to forget it entirely. Jealousy threatened to rise up in her heart, but she quashed it down. Anakin returning to the light was a joyous occasion, not a cause for Ahsoka to blame Luke for the outcome of her own relationship with the man.

They stood in front of the temple, a companionable silence between the two of them for a while. There were many words floating around in Ahsoka's mind, few of which she knew how to say. 

"You should never have been drawn into this war," She decided on. "The sins of my generation and the one before me shouldn't have had to weigh in your shoulders."

"And yet that's how it is. The sins of the people you trusted shouldn't weigh on yours."

And there was Padme again, strong willed and understanding to her core. So much of both parents lived on in Luke. Ahsoka shook her head.

"I can't help you rebuild the Jedi. I'm not that person anymore."

Luke hesitated, before nodding slowly.

"But I can help you rebuild your family, if you'd let me."

Luke blinked, before turning to her fully. He was not nearly as tall as Anakin, and shorter even than her. His expressive blue eyes pierced her soul, and she laughed at his confusion.

"I was apprenticed to Anakin during the Clone Wars," she elaborated. "Think of me as your... Older Sister."

Luke stared at her for a moment, unblinking. Ahsoka began to fear she'd said the wrong thing- much of her life experience and wisdom had been borne from war and the life of a fugitive. This emotional stuff hadn't been a part of her social repertoire for the better part of two and a half decades.

"I'd... I'd like that." He finally replied. "Maybe you can tell me some stories about my- our Father?"

Ahsoka beamed beautifully, without the sadness that usually accompanied her smiles since the end of the Clone Wars. To hear another say such a thing... It warmed her heart. Jedi be damned, attachment be damned...

Ahsoka was finally home.


End file.
